


Learning to Fly

by twistedwings



Series: Power & Control [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Never Met, Dead Erica, F/F, Slow Build, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-07
Updated: 2014-10-13
Packaged: 2018-02-07 19:56:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1911783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twistedwings/pseuds/twistedwings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A year after the tragic death of the love of her life, Allison comes back to Beacon Hills. Everything reminds her of it and it hurts. It's there that she meets Lydia, someone who reminds her of the one she lost, she can't help but get close. Somewhere in the mix, there's alcohol, tears, love and goodbyes. </p>
<p>Somewhere in the mix, she learns how to fly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Brown eyes haunt her dreams. A silky voice that drips of sex whispers that she's ready and that she doesn't want anyone else to do it. Shaky hands reach for the blonde beauty's blouse as she leans forward for a kiss. Before her lips are felt, she's gone, a darkness swallowing her up and taking all the promises with it. Slowly Allison opens her eyes, begging to wake up next to those beautiful blonde curls, but there's nothing in the moonlight. She wishes for _this_ to be the nightmare, closing her eyes and willing it all away, closing her eyes and counting to three.

When Allison opens her eyes there's still no one in bed next to her, there's nothing. Her heart breaks for the millionth time in the last year and her chest begins to ache, throat feeling like she had eaten nails. It hurts, but the sob still escapes into the night air. She hadn't even noticed the tears were streaming down her face until she gripped the now soaked blanket that covered her legs.

It was the 7th night that week that she'd cried herself to sleep, only to wake up and do it again.

* * *

The next morning she was awake, make up covering the puffy eyes and the flushed face. The make up didn't cover how she felt though she wished it had. Paris had lost its zest when she realized that it was a city for lovers and she had no longer had that, it was taken from her. Allison now stood in line at an airport, her hands shaking and feeling like she might faint. Boarding a plane was easy, Allison had travelled all over the world, going on trips to different places, finding a little piece of herself in them all. The problem with this particular flight was the destination.

Beacon Hills, her hometown, where she had made a name for herself and decided to become an artist in the first place. Where she had met her best friends and the love of her life. Erica Reyes wasn't always the confident woman she had grown to become before she had passed. She used to be a nerd, Allison had always thought she was cute but they were in different crowds. They didn't even like each other, until they suddenly did. Showing up to school with their hands locked together and Erica looking so gorgeous everyone could drop dead. Allison can remember that smile, the one in which Erica had when they first kissed, Allison still remembered so much about her and she felt that emptiness in her chest, her heart, grow deeper and larger. She had almost lost her breath when she thought of the woman.

Before she knew it, Allison was on the plane, a little tipsy on the scotch she had requested, and staring out the window as they flew over top of Beacon Hills. She gripped the armrests and tried not to think about the questions she'd most likely be bombarded with, or even the apologies, condolences. Allison hated when people did that, she didn't know what they were apologizing for, was it because they pitied her, is that why they are apologizing. 'I'm really sorry that I give a crap.' or 'I am so sorry that I didn't care until now.'

Allison pondered it for a few seconds, because how could she still sound bitter in her own head?

As the plane landed she tried to think about seeing her friends, how special that would be, how happy she could become. But the very thought of it made her sick because she really couldn't be happy without Erica. It didn't feel right. She grabbed the glass of scotch and quickly downed it, letting her jaw and her body be relaxed slightly by the liquid fire. One of few outlets for her was her alcohol, she needed it to forget the bad things, to dull the ache, even if it was just a little bit for a little while.

"Excuse me." a delicate voice pulled her from her thoughts and she snapped her gaze to the person who owned it. "The plane is empty miss," the stewardess said, her voice laced with worry and unease. Allison looked around and muttered a silent 'Oh' and proceeded to stand up and began to make her way off the plane. Before she could leave though, the delicate voice called to her again, "Miss are you alright?"

Allison took a moment, thinking over how she should answer the question and what would be socially acceptable. Should she be honest, break down in front of this stranger and curse the heavens or should she be polite, tell the woman she's fine and be done with it, keep it all inside. When she realized that she was taking too long to answer the supposedly simple question, she quickly nodded her head and tried to find her voice, because the stewardess whose name tag said Jenny didn't look quite sure about that. "I-I'm fine."

As soon as she had convinced the concerned Jenny that she was indeed okay, she high tailed it out off the plane and went to baggage claim, praying that her things weren't lost. A thought of Erica had made her laugh as she remembered the time that they had to wait two hours for another plane to come just so that they could get Erica's bags. She distinctly remembers Erica threatening to shove her fist up the guys ass and rip his throat out, that particular comment made her think of Derek and before the memory could become evil, it led to her friends and made it a little bit easier to remember things.

The twenty minutes it took for her to get her bags wasn't that bad and she was on her way out of the airport when she heard her name being yelled. She looked in the direction but it was too late because before she knew it she was on the floor and had a lapful of a very excited Stiles and a smirking Derek looking down at her. The pain of the impact from falling on the floor was nothing compared to the swelling in her heart when she felt familiar arms wrapping around her and Stiles practically squealing about how excited he was to see her.

"Stiles, I think you might be crushing her." Derek's voice rang through the air and Allison rolled her eyes affectionately when Stiles had called him a Sourwolf and the scowl that Stiles, Erica, Scott and herself had made fun of over their last 2 years of high school. Their banter was really what got them together in the first place, Stiles and Derek were entertainment for anyone in their path.

Before Allison could get a grasp of where the banter had ended up, her bags were being pulled from her hands by Derek and Stiles had taken her hand and was leading her out of the airport and to the parking lot. Allison needed to get a grip, she couldn't keep spacing out like this, especially when she was trying to convince others that she was fine. She needed to appear as sane as possible, no matter how much she wanted to break down in the arms of her best friends Stiles and Derek. That little voice inside of her began to whisper, 'You can trust them, they would never leave you.' and it wasn't hard to push it back with a quiet whisper of 'But _she_ had said the same thing.'

The drive to Stiles and Derek's home was long and full of Stiles updating Allison on everyone's current stuff, most of it she had remembered from her constant Skype sessions with Stiles and Derek and her occasional phone calls from Scott. She had honestly wanted to meet his new boyfriend, she had heard quite a lot about him, not only from Scott but from Stiles as well. Mostly just complaints about how he was cutting into best friend time and Derek would always smirk fondly at his lover, it made Allison feel weird. Mostly like she was intruding on a moment but they had always been this way, open with affection so all weirdness would quickly go away when a hand was placed on the other's ass. (Mainly Stiles' hand on Derek's ass but no one had ever complained, especially not Derek)

She looked out the window the whole was to their home, silently thanking Derek for not driving past the old Reyes house. She didn't know if she'd had been able to handle if they had, but she knew that both Stiles and Derek had understood her more than any other person could. Their own lives had been dented by loss and both had nearly or completely lost themselves at some point in time. The connection to Stiles and Derek had only grown with the death of Erica, Stiles' partner in crime, Derek's 'sister' and the love of Allison's life.

She hadn't even realized that they had pulled into the woods until the car was being stopped, "We're here!" Stiles said enthusiastically as Allison looked out of the window to see where they were. The sight before her made her gasp, there before her very eyes was the old Hale house. The scene of a fire that her Aunt Kate had set and the place where Derek lost his family, minus a remaining few. This wasn't the same Hale house though, it was restored and _beautiful._ Allison stared at the home in awe and her eyes welled up with tears because this had been Erica's idea, she had wanted Derek to restore the Hale house and for Derek and Stiles to fill it up with a million babies.

An arm wrapped around her shoulder and she looked up to see Derek standing next to her, he looked down and into her questioning eyes and she saw the tears in his as well. He simply nodded, answering her, this was for Erica and it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Stiles had come up to her other side and placed a small kiss on her cheek as he gave her a hug from the side. They took her bags into the house, giving her a room that had reminded her of Erica so much. She quickly put her bags down next to the bed and left the room, the feeling suffocating her as she thought of her now deceased lover.

The kitchen wasn't hard to find with Stiles' voice in the air, she just followed it and found them. It was such a beautiful place and Allison couldn't help but appreciate it, especially in the memory of the one she loved so dearly. Allison came into the space and noticed that the mood hadn't changed, Stiles was still excited and his voice rang through the air like bells, "So Ally A, how was Paris?" he asked as he leaned forward onto the counter handing Allison a mug. Allison took the mug, shrugging as she took a sip to find that the drink was tea, 4 sugars and a little honey, just the way she liked it.

"It was alright, I mean the guys don't know how to take a hint, especially when they figure out that I do indeed speak French. It got to be a little too much but the art was beautiful, I lost myself in food, art and alcohol to be honest." she said and for her these were the most words she had said since she had been in Paris, she didn't talk too much apart from the times that she talked to Stiles and Derek. It was strange that they seemed to be the ones she would always confide in.

Stiles hummed, "So I take it you didn't indulge in sex?" he asked and the question was followed by a loud 'Ow' when Derek wacked him on the head with his newspaper. "I'm just asking, gosh."

Allison couldn't help but laugh at the question and the interactions between Stiles and Derek, it reminded her a lot of herself and Erica. It made it hurt a little less to be around the people she loved again, Stiles and Derek being of the few that were atop that list. "No, Stiles I didn't have sex. Didn't really cross my mind while grieving the one I loved." the sentence would sound harsh to anyone else, but Stiles and Derek didn't even flinch at it.

"Sounds like a bore to me, I would have been sleeping with people left and right." another 'Ow' was followed by that and Derek's gruff voice.

"So you'd be sleeping with people if I died?" Derek asked, raising his infamous eyebrows. Stiles couldn't even answer, he was too busy babbling and trying to find words to say, turning red in the process and Derek just started laughing and shook his head. "I'm only kidding, don't have a heart attack."

Allison watched as Stiles calmed down, laughing it off and swatting at Derek's head. "So anyway, Ally we were gonna take you out to this new restaurant, you've gotta be hungry, it's almost 6 o'clock. I doubt you ate any of that plane food, especially on a 12 hour flight. So what do ya say?" Stiles asked, his eyes so big and she even thought she saw his bottom lip being poked out. She had no choice but to say yes.

* * *

The restaurant was on the other side of town, far from any places that had reminded her of Erica, even though she couldn't help but imagine her coming to a place like this. Allison thought of how Erica would dress, probably put her hair and wear that red dress that hugged every single curve that she possessed. It was hard not to think of it, to think of her heels clicking on the ground outside of the place, or how well she'd look when Allison would let her walk in front of her. The pang in her chest made it hard not to think of it.

"Reservation under Hale," she heard and her thoughts were ripped from her when she looked up to see the hostess, with blonde locks leading them to their table. Allison sat down across on the one side of the table, trying to get a glimpse. Of course it wasn't Erica, she's gone. _Dead_ she clarified in her own head. "We'll take Scotch please, all three of us" Derek's voice chimed in and he had a knowing look on his face. She tried not to blush from embarrassment, it didn't work.

Dinner was good, the place was actually the closest to natural Italian cuisine and it was here in Beacon Hills. It made her chuckle. "It's really surprising that this food is this good. I've been to Italy once and the food is still in my head, it's shocking that this place is actually in _Beacon Hills_."

Stiles smiled at her and nodded, "I know we thought the same thing when we came here for taste testing. We know the owner, she was insistent that we'd need to taste it before she actually opened the place." and the way he rolled his eyes at the end made her laugh again, she hadn't laughed this much in the past year and it was refreshing, still felt odd though to have fun without her. "You'll meet her soon, I think she's coming over tomorrow for the welcome home party that we told you about. You know how Scott is whenever you come home."

Allison nodded her head and laughed again, "Yeah remember that time that Melissa had to smack him in the back of the head because he got drunk and was singing 'Livin on a Prayer' at the banquet hall?" from there on the rest of dinner had been full of old stories that had absolutely nothing to do with death and despair, Erica was of course brought up in these stories but it didn't hurt as much as she thought it would. The pain never going away but not aching as bad as when she's alone. 

If when they were leaving, Allison saw that Stiles and Derek had thought of dinner as a success via a hand on the back, Allison didn't say anything at all. She considered it successful as well.

* * *

But when they had gotten home and Allison was alone in the room that she knew was made for Erica, she couldn't help herself. She lost control, she couldn't keep the tears inside, or the shaking or the breaths that seemed to take too long to get into her body. She panicked.

Before she could let the darkness grab her, Stiles was busting into the room and holding onto her, rocking her back and forth and she felt something cold touch her face. It was wet, maybe water. She wasn't lost, she was found and soon Derek was on the other side of her, telling her that it was okay and to just let it go, to let it all go and that she was safe.

It was that first night that Allison had cried somewhere that she wasn't completely alone. It was also the first night, in a year, she had cried in the arms of the two people who understood her most. They held her, their own tears making an appearance, they fell asleep that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys like it, soon you'll meet Lydia and I know Erica's dead but don't kill me... it causes for a much better plot than just a break up. Give me feedback and I'll be updating soon.


	2. Chapter 2

For the first time in a year, Allison gets to sleep without being awakened by her nightmares. She opens her eyes to be greeted by Scott staring back at her, laying down next to her. She groans and closes her eyes again, opening them to still find Scott looking at her, his crooked chin and bright smile being his signature. "Hi," he said with that dopey grin on his face and she smiled at him, because whenever Scott McCall smiles at you, you end up smiling back.

"Scott McCall, you haven't changed in the slightest." it took little effort to maintain the smile that was on her face with Scott looking at her sideways, almost like the puppy everyone has known him to be. There was a time when Scott and Allison had thought they were in love but knew it wouldn't go any further than friendship, somehow they had lost touch but found their way back. "How have you been?"

He scooted forward and hugged her, "I should be the one asking you that question but I've been well, I mean as well as you can be after losing a friend." he said and his face fell when he realized that he could 'trigger' her. Allison didn't say anything and just put her hand up when Scott had begun to apologize. She didn't need him to do that, it was okay, she wasn't going to burst at the seems around him. She preferred to be alone when doing so. The silence that surrounded them was awkward and made her want to crawl out of her skin.

A knock at the door had Allison praising the heavens, both Scott and Allison looked towards the noise and there stood a smiling Stiles. "Well don't you two look cozy? Should I be jealous Allison? I thought I was the best cuddler ever." Allison smiled broadly as Stiles ran over to the bed and hopped between Scott and her, she giggled as Scott pouted and Stiles looked over at him. "Turn that frown upside down, your lover boy is downstairs anyway and he keeps apologizing for being late." Before Stiles could even finish, Scott was up and running down out the door.

Allison watched him with an amused look on her face and shook her head. "He really hasn't changed at all." she mumbled, she and Stiles shared a look before they both broke out into laughter over their mutual friend. When the laughter died down, Stiles scooted closer to her and hugged her, "Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.

Stiles' eyebrows furrowed, "And how exactly am I looking at you?" she smiled and just shrugged, "Just wondering how you feel? I know last night was hard for you." Allison didn't want to talk about it, she really didn't, but she knew that she wasn't going to have a choice. She just huffed and shut her eyes, breathing in Stiles' comforting scent. A hand was on her cheek and she looked up to meet Stiles' eyes, the whiskey color made her feel dizzy yet comfortable. "You don't have to talk about it right now, but remember Derek and I will always be here."

Allison nodded her head and smiled a little because she knew how true that was. Stiles and her had bonded over the death of Erica, he was Erica's best friend and she was Erica's soulmate. By definition, they had soon become best friends as well, really it had started out with Derek and her bonding whenever Stiles would steal Erica away. They both grumbled to each other about it and Derek was a cool guy, very likeable when you got to know him. Allison could see the way that he looked at Stiles, it was how she thought she looked at Erica, the connection was easy to make.

When Erica had died, Allison wouldn't believe it and Stiles was the only one that seemed to be wrecked as much as her. Derek was there to pick up Stiles and in turn, they both helped Allison. Stiles was still devastated and Allison could see that, Derek and Erica had become great friends, it wasn't easy for any of the three. When Allison had fled to France, Derek and Stiles weren't happy, but they knew she needed her time and they never let her feel alone. The millions of Skype calls she can remember were proof of that, also the many text messages of funny pictures of Derek and Stiles was a way to keep going.

A knock on the door frame brought Allison out of her thoughts and made Stiles turn around and look at the doorway. "Lydia, what are you doing here? I thought you wouldn't be here until like, uh later?" Stiles said, jumping out of the bed and running towards the door to throw his arms around someone quickly. Allison watched as small, perfectly manicured nails rubbing Stiles' back as the person embraced him as well. A flash of red hair was all Allison saw but she didn't have time to see who it was because Stiles was pushing the girl out of the room and down the hall.

Allison stared at the doorway before she sighed and pulled herself out of bed, she was looking down at her suitcase that she still hadn't unpacked when Stiles' head popped back into the doorway and he smiled at her and waved his hand slowly to catch her attention. "Sorry, one of our guests for your party. I'll be up soon with some breakfast for you, scrambled eggs with mushrooms and a bagel right?" Allison nodded as she smiled at Stiles' flailing hands and smiling face. As he disappeared from the door, she realized that not everything had to change, her heart warmed just a little at the thought.

* * *

By the time she got downstairs everyone had left except for Derek, he had been waiting for her like she was expected to get dressed late. Her shoulder length hair may have been short but she had to deal with the knots. When Derek saw her, he smiled at her and moved towards her, pulling her into a light hug. Touch was something that Allison would never have to get used to, at least not from Stiles and Derek. "How are you today?" he asked her gently, he knew it was hard for her last night and just like Stiles, he didn't push.

Allison shrugged as she ran a hand through her hair hastily, "I'm still alive." she spoke calmly. Derek nodded, he knew what it felt like, to lose people. He was one of the main people she would go to for anything in that department, he was broken in his own right. Allison and he sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before another word was spoken. "Where is everybody anyway?" Allison asked, suddenly aware of how quiet the house was, that was never an occurrence when Stiles was actually home.

Derek smiled as he took a sip from the water that had been in front of him, "They went out to get stuff for your party, Scott insisted on it. Lydia encouraged it for some odd reason." Derek's smile was contagious, Allison didn't know why she was all of a sudden happy. Maybe it was the fact that it warmed her heart that her friends were welcoming her home. She still didn't know who this Lydia person and she would like to put a name to a face because this was killing her. She had always hated meeting new people, depending on the circumstances.

"What does Lydia look like?" she asked suddenly and Derek's eyebrows raised with surprise and amusement. Allison quickly stuttered out, "No I just mean, I would like to put a face with the name and vice versa shit like that." The fact that she explained herself only made Derek more amused and now he was practically grinning and his eyes lit up with mischief. Allison hated that look, she groaned as Derek walked out of the room with his cell phone in hand. She didn't know why but suddenly she was afraid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am seriously sorry that this is both short and that it took so long.. no excuse will make up but another new chapter tomorrow will!


	3. It's My Party (I'll Cry If I Want To)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is a new chapter. Hope you like! It was really easy for me to write this one out. The ideas just flowed.

"Shit.." Allison hissed as she tried to wipe the mascara that was running down the cheeks of her face. Allison didn't know what to do, she had locked herself in the bathroom and was trying to wipe the wine off of her dress, but now she was crying helplessly. She looked at herself in the mirror and glared, "You're so pathetic." she whispered lowly and she wished Erica was here so that she could make a joke and cheer her up and kiss the tears off of her face. She couldn't leave the bathroom until she had been completely okay and she got the goddamned make up off of her face because she couldn't let Derek or Stiles see her like this.

Taking a seat on the closed toilet, she tried to calm herself down, trying to think of something or anything that could make her feel better. Her attempt was futile, it hadn't worked and she had just ended up crying again at the thought of Erica. A sudden knock at the door had pulled her out of her thoughts with a jump, she knocked over the trashcan next to the toilet when she had tried to get up quickly. She hissed again because now someone knew she was in there. "Um just a minute." she called out and fell to her knees to pick up the things that had fallen out of the trash can.

"Need some help?" she heard from a sharp voice that reminded her of Erica and she turned around quickly, seeing a redheaded woman standing in the doorway with concern written all over her face. Allison stood up quickly with the can in her hand, confusion was the only thing she felt right now.

"How did you get in here?"

The redhead smiled at her and with humor coating her voice she spoke, "This bathroom's lock doesn't work, hasn't for quite awhile actually." Allison nodded her head and almost said something again but then the woman was moving into the bathroom as well and had shut the door behind her. "You don't mind if I smoke in here? I just really need it right now and you don't look like you're going anywhere." the unknown redhead had said as she pointed at Allison's dress and her mascara streaked cheeks.

Allison shook her head, knowing she should have been offended but she honestly agreed with the mysterious woman, she knew she wasn't leaving this bathroom any time soon. "I'm uh, Allison." she said as she watched the woman light up her cigarette, the way her small and perfectly manicured nails flicked the lighter, it was hard not to.

"I know." the woman said with a wink, but it wasn't exactly flirty, it was more mischievous and playful. Allison didn't even begin to ask how, she was crying in the bathroom at a party thrown for herself and everyone else knew each other already, it wasn't that hard to figure it out. So instead of asking how, she just asked if she could take a puff. She had been sitting here watching this woman smoke and she had nothing to lose, she just wanted to breathe in a different kind of air. The woman didn't look surprised at all and she handed her cigarette over with very little resistance.

Allison took the cigarette from the small hand that held it and pulled it to her face, as she let her mouth close around it the first thing she tasted was lipstick. It reminded her of those random nights when Erica would bring home a bag of pot, she'd always shotgun her. They'd share the roach and she'd always taste Erica's lipstick, the way she longed for that taste and how they'd fuck through their high later on, how she'd always have to order food because Erica would complain about how hungry she was. The taste of someone else's lipstick made her think of the lipstick she craved the most. Allison took in a long drag from the cigarette and let herself feel the smoke go through her lungs before she let it go.

She took a few more drags and then handed the cigarette back to the woman, "So uh, what's your name again, I don't think you told me?" she asked as she blew out the remnants of a recent drag.

The redheaded woman smirked as she sucked on the cigarette, her eyes fell closed as she breathed in the smoke, Allison watched her. With her eyes still closed she sighed, letting the smoke slip out of her mouth and into the room, "I didn't and I probably won't. I like mystery." she said. Allison watched the way her lips moved, how soft they looked and the way that the smoke would roll out of them with every single breath after she'd take a drag. When the other woman opened her eyes, Allison snapped her eyes away and felt the blush creep over her cheeks.

Allison let her gaze fall on herself in the mirror and fuck she looked a mess. Her hair was falling flat from the curls she had done earlier, the mascara was now drying on her face, the huge wine stain going down her front and her face looked flustered. She silently criticized herself in the mirror, "So you want me to help you with all that." the redhead spoke, it wasn't a question and Allison wasn't really sure she had a choice in the matter so all she did was look at her and the woman sighed and handed her the cigarette. "Here, I'll be right back." She hopped off the counter and walked to the door, right before she opened it, she turned around and smiled. "It's Lydia. My name's Lydia." and then she was gone.

Well shit, Allison had thought to herself, no wonder everyone loved her.

* * *

 When Lydia had returned, she had so much stuff in her hands that Allison was surprised she hadn't fallen over, as soon as she was in the door Allison had shut it behind her. She set the stuff on the counter and then immediately made Allison sit on top of the toilet, so that they'd essentially be the same height. She pulled out wet wipes and began to wipe Allison's face with them. "There's something so strange about how many times I have used these." Lydia said but before Allison could ask what she had meant, Lydia was wiping at her face again.

"Look up." Lydia commanded and then started to apply all new make up to Allison's face, Allison just sat there and let herself be made up. "You're eyes say so many things at once." Lydia said out of nowhere. "They tell the story that you don't want to speak." Allison didn't say anything, she just listened to the silence of the room after Lydia had spoken, her words ringing in her head the entire time.

When Lydia was finally done, she pulled out a sweater that could go over top of Allison's dress and told her to put it on. She then reached for the door, "I'll be out here with them so they don't think we ran away together." she said with a smirk and was gone. Allison looked at herself in the mirror and smiled, well maybe this night wasn't so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOOO how'd you like their meeting??? It was actually very easy to flow all of this together. Let me know what you think   
> Love,  
> TwistedWings


End file.
